Shirt presser bag with replaceable sides and yoke

ABSTRACT

A shirt presser bag with inflatable side bags and yoke which are replaceable. The assembly comprises a noninflatable body bag for placement over a pressing platen, an inflatable yoke removably attached to the top edge of the body bag, and inflatable side bags juxtaposed the side edges of the body bag. The yoke defines an inflatable pocket closed at its ends and open at its center, and an elastic stay extends from end to end in the pocket and maintains the pocket in an opened condition. A substantially rigid stay is connected to each side bag and is connectable to a side edge of the body bag to hold the side bags in abutment with the edges of the body bag.

United States Patent [72] Inventors George Schlemon' 3,482,745 12/1969 Forman 1. 2213/67 2,743,854 5/1956 Strike. 223/57 Erne tG rg hi sJ 2,788,162 4/1957 Hitzm 223 57 9 2,854,177 9/1958 Strike et a1 223/57 [21] App 853,045 2,921,727 1/1960 Lopez 223/67 1 Filed g- 6 3,378,179 4/1968 Forse 223/67 22:22:: 'giigz zz Inc. Primary Examiner.lordan Franklin I Atlanta Ga Ass1stantExammerGeorge V. Larkm Anomey-Jones & Thomas [54] SHIRT PRESSER BAG WITH REPLACEABLE gs ABSTRACT: A shin presser bag with inflatable side bags and yoke which are replaceable. The assembly comprises a nonin- U.S. i i flatable bag for placement va a ressing platen an in. 223/67, 223/70 flatable yoke removably attached to the top edge of the body [51] Int. Cl ..D06c 15/00, bag, and i fl bl side bags juxtaposed the Side edges f the D06: 5/00, 5/00 5/02 body bag. The yoke defines an inflatable pocket closed at its [50] Field Of Search 223/57Y 67, d d open t it center, d an l ti t t d f 1 24v 52152-1, end to end in the pocket and maintains the pocket in an o ned condition. A substantiall ri id sta is connected to [56] References Cited eszh side bag and is connectablet a side edge of the body bag UNITED STATES PATENTS to hold the side bags in abutment with the edges of the body 3,480,187 11/1969 Bonn 223/67 bag.

PATENTEBJULZTISH 3; 595,450

sum 1 [IF 2 GEORGE SCHLEMON ERNEST e. smvERsFR.

ATTORNEYS PATENTEU 4112? m:

SHEET 2 [IF 2 SHIRT PRESSER BAG WITH REPLACEABLE SIDES AND YOKE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Various equipment has been developed for automatically pressing shirts and similar garments in order to reduce the amount of time and labor required in the cleaning process of a laundry, or the like. The typical shirt-pressing equipment comprises a relatively thin upright buck draped with an integral bag structure having inflatable sides and top portions, and heated pressing plates which are engageable with the front and rear surfaces of the buck to press the front and rear portions of a shirt draped over the'buck. The inflatable portions of the bag inflate to fill out the side edges of the shirt and collar or yoke portion of the shirt since the presser plates are usually not effective in these regions. Moreover, the inflating feature of the assembly allows the inflatable portions of the bag assembly to assume the shape of the shirt, regardless of the particular shape of the shirt, so that tapered or flared waist portions, or wide or narrow shoulder portions can be accommodated and effectively pressed along with the front and back portions of the shirt in a single process.

The bag structure placed over the upright buck has typically comprised a body portion or bag fabricated of a heat-resistant, soft porous material, with inflatable side portions or bags and an inflatable top portion or yoke connected to the side edges and top edge of the body portion. The side portions and top portion of the bag assembly are fabricated of a less porous, slick material which is suitable for inflation by hot air and which allows most shirt fabrics to slide smoothly over the outside surfaces of these portions of the bag assembly without inhibiting the adjustment and arrangement of a typical shirt when placed upon the bag assembly and buck.

In the function of the shirt-pressing equipment, the body portion of the bag assembly is not inflated and merely acts as a buck cover or as an internal surface against which the shirt is pressed by the heated plates. The inflatable side bags and yoke are inflated during each operation of the shirt-pressing machine. This continual flexing, stretching and abrasion by the inflatable portions of the bag assembly together with the friction between these portions of the bag assembly and the garments placed over the assembly cause the inflatable portions of the bag assembly to wear more rapidly than the body portion. For instance, the body portion may last twice as long as the inflatable side portions and top portion, depending upon the materials used. Of course, when any one of the side portions or top portion of the bag assembly becomes worn or damaged so that it does not properly inflate to perform the desired expanding and pressing function, the entire bag assembly must be moved from the buck and discarded, even though the body portion and one or more of the inflatable portions may have several weeks or months wear left.

When a shirt is placed over the shirt presser bag and its presser buck, the shirt is usually pulled down fairly tight over the body portion of the bag by the operator and pulled into a smooth configuration so that the presser plates will not form wrinkles during the pressing function. When draping and smoothing a shirt over the assembly, the operator usually pulls with enough force on the shirt to collapse and substantially close the pocket area within the inflatable top portion of the bag assembly. When air is subsequently fed to the pocket of the inflatable top portion, the binding of the top portion by the shirt is occasionally such that the top portion is not able to ex pand properly and does not properly inflate one or both shoulder portionsof the shirt. Of course, this inhibits the proper wrinkle-removing function of the inflatable top portion of the bag assembly.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Briefly described, the present invention comprises a shirt presser bag assembly which includes replaceable portions including a noninflatable body bag, an inflatable yoke and inflatable side bags. The inflatable portions of the bag assembly can be removed and replaced without disturbing the body bag or the other inflatable portions. The pocket of the inflatable yoke is maintained in a partially open condition at all times to insure that an air channel is provided along the entire length of the pocket.

Thus, it is an object of this invention to provide a shirt presser bag for an upright buck which has replaceable parts.

Another object of this invention is to provide a sectional shirt presser bag which is long lasting, durable, and the parts of which can be easily connected to or disconnected from parts adjacent thereto.

Other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent upon reading the following specification, when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing.

. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a shirt presser, showing a shirt positioned on a movable buck.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the movable buck of FIG. 1 showing one of the side bags in exploded position.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the inflatable yoke.

FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of an alternate construction of an inflatable yoke, showing the manner in which the yoke is attached to the body bag.

FIG. 5 is a schematic side cross-sectional view of the inflatable yoke and the top portion of the body bag, showing the yoke in its collapsed condition.

FIG. 6 is a schematic side cross-sectional view of the inflatable yoke, similar to FIG. 5, but showing the yoke inflated.

FIG. 7 is a schematic side cross-sectional view of a modified form of an inflatable yoke, showing the yoke in its collapsed condition.

FIG. 8 is a schematic side cross-sectional view, similar to FIG. 7, but showing the yoke in its inflated condition.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring now in more detail to the drawing, in which like numerals indicate like parts throughout the several views,

FIG. 1 shows a shirt presser l0 and includes a pressing cabinet 11 and an extension 12. An upright, relatively thin and wide buck is movable from extension 12 into and out of pressing cabinet 11. The operator drapes a shirt or similar garment over buck l4 and closes a switch which functions to move the buck within pressing cabinet 11 where a pair of heated plates (not shown) engage the front and back surfaces of the shirt and press the shirt against the buck. This functions to press or remove the wrinkles from the shirt in its front and back portions. The collar and the sleeves of the shirt are usually pressed by another piece of equipment before the shirt presser is used.

As is shown in FIG. 2, shirt presser bag assembly 15 is placed over the buck 14. Shirt presser bag assembly 15 includes a body bag 16, side bags 18 and 19, and yoke 20. Body bag 16 generally conforms in shape to buck l4 and includes a central vertical zipper 21 for closing and opening body bag 16 when placing body bag 16 on or removing body bag 16 from buck 14. Zipper 21 extends between shirttail clamp 68 and neck opening 23 for collar clamp 69 for ease in dressing the buck, and a flap 22 covers zipper 21. The construction of zipper 21 and its flap 22 is such that a substantially smooth and flat surface is maintained in the front of body bag 16, so that no ridges or undesirable wrinkles will appear in a shirt or similar garment that is pressed on body bag 16.

Armholes 24 are defined in the upper side edges of body bag 16, and the reciprocal tensioning rods 25 of the buck are movable along their lengths through armholes 24. Loops 26 are connected to the lower side edges of body bag 16. Side bags 18 and 19 are connected to the side edges of body bag 16.

Side bags 18 and 19 are identical to each other and both comprise an inflatable bag portion 28, a noninflatable pocket portion 29, and tie strings 30. A stay member such as rectilinear rigid stay 31 is slidably received in noninflatable pocket portion 29. The lower end of stay 31 protrudes from the open lower end of pocket portion 29 and is insertable into loop 26 at the lower edge of body bag 16. Tie strings are normally tied to the upper portion of the side edges of body bag 16 through a grommet 32, or the like (FIG. 4).

Inflatable bag portion 28 of each of the side bags 18 and 19 is flat in its area adjacent its pocket portion 29 and the stay 31 inserted therein, and is rounded at its outer edge away from stay 31. Also, the upper and lower ends 34 and 35 are tapered downwardly and upwardly, respectively, and its outer edge 36 is sloped in an outward direction toward its bottom end away from stay 31. Springs 38 and 39 are connected to the upper and lower ends of the outer edge 36 to pull outer edge 36 generally away from stay 31. Upper spring 38 of each side bag 18 and 19 is connected to reciprocal rod 25 while lower spring 39 is connected to pivotal rod 40 of the shirt presser mechanism.

As is best shown in FIG. 3, yoke 20 comprises an inflatable yoke bag 41 and front and rear panels 42 and 43, respectively. Inflatable yoke bag 41 generally corresponds in shape to the shoulder area of a shirt, and includes shoulder sections 44 and 45 and neck section 46. Shoulder sections 44 and 45 are closed at their ends while neck section 46 opens into shoulder sections 44 and 45. The opening 48 of neck section 45 functions as a means for introducing air into the inflatable yoke bag 41.

Front and rear panels 42 and 43 are connected to the bottom surface of inflatable yoke bag 41 and are arranged to extend in a downward direction over the front and rear upper portions of body bag 16, as shown in FIG. 2. Tie strings 49 are connected to the lower side edges of front and rear panels 42 and 43 so that yoke 20 can be tied onto the upper portion of the presser buck 14 and body bag 16.

As is shown in FIG. 4, inflatable yoke bag 41 can be connected to body bag 16 by means of U-shaped hooks 50 which extend through loops 51 sewn onto the shoulder area of body bag 15 and similar loops 52 sewn onto the bottom surface of inflatable yoke bag 41. Hooks 54 are connected to the terminal ends of shoulder sections 44 and 45. U-shaped hooks 50 are inserted first through loops 51, then through loops 52. Hooks 54 are then snapped over the curved portion of U- shaped hooks 50. This firmly connects inflatable yoke bag 41 to body bag 15 without the use of front and rear panels 42 and 43 and tie strings 49.

As is shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, inflatable yoke bag 41 has an elastic, elongated stay 56 therein which extends throughout a major portion of its length. Inflatable yoke bag 41 includes bottom section 58 and top section 59 which are sewn together at their edges and to front panel 42 and rear panel 43. Top section 59 is of greater width than bottom section 58, so that when inflatable yoke bag 41 is inflated, top section 59 is normally spaced away from bottom section 58, as is shown in FIG. 6. As is shown in FIG. 5, when inflatable yoke bag 41 is not inflated, top section 59 tends to droop in downward direction ovcr elongated stay 56. Since elongated stay 56 is generally of rounded cross-sectional configuration, passageways 60 and 61 will always be present on opposed sides of elongated stay 56, between top section 59 and bottom section 58. With this arrangement, when air is blown into the neck section 46 of inflatable yoke bag 41, passageways 60 and 61 always provide a channel of communication throughout the entire length of inflatable yoke bag 41.

Elongated stay 56 comprises an elongated foam rubber core 62 and a tubular fabric pad 64 surrounding rubber core 62. Rubber core 62 always urges tubular fabric pad 64 into a substantially circular cross-sectional configuration. Tubular fabric pad 64 is fabricated of a thick porous fabric. When a garment is pulled tightly down over the upper edge of pressing buck 14 and shirt presser bag 16, the shoulder portion of the shirt may compress elongated stay 56 to some extent; however, a smooth rounded surface will always be provided for the shoulder portion of the shirt, even when the inflatable yoke bag is not inflated. The elastic properties of elongated stay 56 allow for substantial compression from the shirt and inflatable yoke bag 41 will assume the configuration of the shoulder section of the shirt, at least to some extent, before its inflation. In the meantime, passageways 60 and 61 on opposed sides of elongated stay 56 will be maintained open. Of course, when air is transmitted to the opening 48 of neck section 46, inflatable yoke bag 41 will tend to inflate and substantially fill the neck and shoulder sections of the shirt. This removes the wrinkles from the shirt. Moreover, heated air is utilized in the inflating function, so that the heat from the air tends to remove the wrinkles from the shirt.

As is shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, elongated stay 56 can be removed from between the bottom section 58 and top section 59 of inflatable yoke bag 41 and placed between the intersection of front and rear panels 42 and 43 and bottom section 58 of inflatable yoke bag 41. The arrangement is such that the width of bottom section 58 is greater than that required to span elongated stay 56, so that bottom section 58 is not pulled right but maintained in a relatively loose configuration. Since top section 59 is greater in its width than bottom section 58, it may tend to form folds when yoke bag 41 is not inflated. However, passageways 65 and 66 will be maintained between bottom section 58 and top section 59 of inflatable yoke 41 due to the loose fit of these sections about elongated stay 56. Thus, when air is applied to opening 48 of neck section 46, a free channel of communication will be maintained through passageways 65 and 66 so that top section 59 will balloon in an upward direction away from bottom section 58, as illustrated in FIG. 8.

OPERATION When a shirt presser bag assembly is to be connected to presser buck 14, body bag 16 is extended about or dressed over presser buck 14, and zipper 21 is zipped closed. Arm openings 24 will register with reciprocal rods 25 at the upper side corners of presser buck 14. Zipper 21 terminates at a distance from the bottom edge of body bag 16 to accommodate shirt clamp 68. The upper edge of zipper 21 terminates at a point sufficient to accommodate collar clamp 69. Inflatable yoke 20 is placed on the top surface of body bag 16 and its front and rear panels 42 and 43 extended in a downward direction over the front and back surfaces of body bag 16. Tie strings 49 are tied together below arm openings 24. Collar clamp 69 extends through collar clamp opening 47.

Rectilinear rigid stays 31 of side bags 18 and 19 are inserted into their noninflatable pocket portions 29 of the side bags. Stays 31 extend to the upper end of their side bags and protrude from the open lower end of noninflatable pocket portions 29. The protruding lower ends of stays 31 are inserted through loops 26 attached to the lower side edges of body bag 16. Tie strings 30 are tied to body bag 15 at a point just below armhole openings 24, by inserting at least one of the tie strings 30 through grommet 32 (FIG. 4). This positions stay 31 and its side bag in abutment with the side of body bag 15 and presser buck 14. The lower open end of the side bag is connected to hot air pipes 13 of the shirt presser. Springs 38 and 39 are connected to the upper and lower ends of the outer edge 26 of the bag and to reciprocal rods 25 and pivotal rods 40 of the shirt presser assembly. Springs 38 and 39 tend to maintain side bags 18 and 19in an outwardly flared condition. At this point, shirt presser 10 is ready for operation.

The operator dresses pressing buck 14 and its shirt presser bag assembly 15 with a shirt which is to be pressed. Reciprocal rods 25 are withdrawn into the confines of pressing buck 14, shirttail clamp 68 is pivoted outwardly away from pressing buck 14, and collar clamp 69 is pivoted away from yoke 20, so that these elements do not encumber the dressing function. When the shirt is placed upon pressing buck 14, collar clamp 69 is pivoted up into engagement with the collar of the shirt to keep the collar in its folded closed condition. Shirttail clamp 68 is pivoted up into engagement with the front shirttails, and

reciprocal rods 25 are reciprocated outwardly to partially fill the sleeves of the shirt. The outward movement of reciprocal rods 25 tends to carry springs of side bags 18 and 19 in an outward direction; however, springs 38 are free to slide along the length of reciprocal rods 25 and when they engage the arm openings of the sides of the shirt, they tend to slide over the surface of reciprocal rods 25 as the rods continue in their outward movement.

The operator then causes air to flow through pipes 13 to inflate side bags 18 and 19. Side bags 18 and 19 will fill the side edges of shirt 70 and tend to assume the shape of the side edges of the shirt. Presser buck 14 is then moved into pressing cabinet 11, where a conduit communicates with opening 48 of neck section 46 of yoke 20, and inflates inflatable yoke bag 41. Yoke bag 4] then assumes the shape of the shoulder and neck section of the shirt, to remove the wrinkles and folds from the shirt. In the meantime, the heated pressing plates (not shown) of pressing cabinet 11 move into engagement with the front and back surfaces of shirt 70 and press shirt 70 against shirt presser bag assembly l3and pressing buck 14. This functions to remove the wrinkles from shirt 70. After a predetermined time period, the heated presser plates will be moved away from shirt 70 and presser buck 14 will be withdrawn from pressing cabinet 11. The operator then prepares to remove the shirt 70 from presser buck 14 by pivoting shirttail clamp 68 away from the shirt, by pivoting collar clamp 69 away from the collar, by terminating the airflow to side bags 18 and 19, and by retracting reciprocal bars 25. The shirt may be removed or undressed from presser buck l4, and another shirt placed thereon.

Side bags 18 and 19 and inflatable yoke bag 41 are fabricated of a smooth material to assist the operator in placing the shirts over the shirt presser bag assembly 15. These smooth surfaces are located in areas where the shirt being pressed would normally engage the shirt presser bag assembly during the dressing and undressing of the shirt about the presser bag assembly. The material chosen for fabricating side bags 18 and 19 and inflatable yoke bag 51 also must be of a weave that is porous enough to allow some flow of air through these bags and into the shirt or garment placed over the bag during the pressing function, yet the weave cannot be so porous as to allow free airflow to the atmosphere. Of course, no matter what material is chosen for the fabrication of these portions of the shirt presser bag assembly 15, the continual inflation and deflation of these portions of the assembly and the continual frictional engagement of the shirt or garment with these portions causes these portions to wear more rapidly than body portion 16. Since side bags 18 and 19 and yoke 20 can be easily replaced, little down time is required of shirt presser when replacing the inflatable components of shirt presser bag assembly 15. Furthermore, if one inflatable portion of the assembly is found to be in need of replacement while another inflatable portion does not need replacement, the sectional assembly allows piecemeal replacement, as may be desired. Thus, use of optimum life of all of the components of the presser bag assembly can be attained.

While this invention has been described in detail with particular reference to preferred embodiments thereof, it will be understood that variations and modifications can be effected within the spirit and scope of the invention as described hereinbefore and as defined in the appended claims.

We claim:

1. A shirt presser bag assembly comprising a body bag open at its lower end and defining a neck opening and armholes at its upper end, a zipper extending through said body bag and connecting the lower end with said neck opening so that said body bag is openable, inflatable side bags positioned on each side of said body bag generally below said armholes, a generally rectilinear stay connected to each of said side bags and extending along at least a ma'or portion of the height of the side bags, connecting means or connecting the side bags at their upper and lower ends to the sides of said body bag in such a manner that said side bags are maintained in abutment with the sides of said body bag along the lengths of said stays, an inflatable yoke assembly extending across the upper portion of said body bag and comprising an inflatable yoke bag, front and rear panel members each connected at their upper ends to said yoke bag and extending downwardly over the front and rear surfaces of said body bag, and connecting means for connecting said front and rear panel members to said body bag.

2. A shirt presser bag assembly comprising a body bag, inflatable side bags positioned on each side of said body bag, and a substantially rigid rectilinear stay for each side bag connected along its length to its side bag and positioned in juxtaposition with the sides of said body bag in such a manner that said side bags are held in juxtaposition with said body bag.

3; The invention of claiml and wherein each side bag comprises pocket means having an open end for receiving said stay, and tie strings connected to at least one end of each of said side bags for connecting said side bags to said body bag.

4. The invention of claim 1 and wherein said body bag includes loop means attached ,to its sides for receiving said stay.

5. A shoulder yoke for connection to a shirt-finishing bag comprising an inflatable pocket defined by adjacent layers of material, said pocket extending substantially the entire width of the yoke and being closed at its ends and defining an open ing at its center for the introduction of air, an elongated flexible stay of resilient elastomeric material positioned in said pocket and extending across a major portion of the width of the yoke, connecting panels extending from the front and rear portions of said pocket over the front and rear surfaces of the 7. The invention of claim 6 and further including tie strings connected to the outside surface of said inflatable bag for connecting said inflatable bag to a shirt-finishing bag. 

1. A shirt presser bag assembly comprising a body bag open at its lower end and defining a neck opening and armholes at its upper end, a zipper extending through said body bag and connecting the lower end with said neck opening so that said body bag is openable, inflatable side bags positioned on each side of said body bag generally below said armholes, a generally rectilinear stay connected to each of said side bags and extending along at least a major portion of the height of the side bags, connecting means for connecting the side bags at their upper and lower ends to the sides of said body bag in such a manner that said side bags are maintained in abutment with the sides of said body bag along the lengths of said stays, an inflatable yoke assembly extending across the upper portion of said body bag and comprising an inflatable yoke bag, front and rear panel members each connected at their upper ends to said yoke bag and extending downwardly over the front and rear surfaces of said body bag, and connecting means for connecting said front and rear panel members to said body bag.
 2. A shirt presser bag assembly comprising a body bag, inflatable side bags positioned on each side of said body bag, and a substantially rigid rectilinear stay for each side bag connected along its length to its side bag and positioned in juxtaposition with the sides of said body bag in such a manner that said side bags are held in juxtaposition with said body bag.
 3. The invention of claim 1 and wherein each side bag comprises pocket means having an open end for receiving said stay, and tie strings connected to at least one end of each of said side bags for connecting said side bags to said body bag.
 4. The invention of claim 1 and wherein said body bag includes loop means attached to its sides for receiving said stay.
 5. A shoulder yoke for connection to a shirt-finishing bag comprising an inflatable pocket defined by adjacent layers of material, said pocket extending substantially the entire width of the yoke and being closed at its ends and defining an opening at its center for the introduction of air, an elongated flexible stay of resilient elastomeric material positioned in said pocket and extending across a major portion of the width of the yoke, connecting panels extending from the front and rear portions of said pocket over the front and rear surfaces of the finishing bag, and tie strings connected to said panels for anchoring said shoulder yoke to a finishing bag or the like.
 6. An inflatable side bag for connection to a shirt-finishing bag comprising an inflatable pocket open at its lower end for the introduction of air, a support pocket means attached to said inflatable pocket, and a substantially rectilinear stay member inserted into said support pocket means, said support pocket means being constructed and arranged to hold said stay member adjacent one side of said inflatable pocket.
 7. The invention of claim 6 and further including tie strings connected to the outside surface of said inflatable bag for connecting said inflatable bag to a shirt-finishing bag. 